Oklahoma Hiring: What you need to know

The Oklahoma Civil Rights Act prohibits hiring practices that discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 years of age and older), genetic information, or disability, unless the accommodation for the disability would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer’s business. The Act covers all private employers (OK Stat. Tit. 25 Sec. 1302).

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Employers are prohibited from requiring that applicants or employees abstain from using tobacco products outside of the workplace, unless nonuse is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) or is required by a collective bargaining agreement (OK Stat. Tit. 40 Sec. 500 et seq.). The law also prohibits employers from discrimination in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment based on an individual's use of tobacco products during nonworking hours.

With very limited exceptions, it is unlawful for Oklahoma employers to take an adverse employment action against a current employee who refuses to give the employer access to his or her social media account. Likewise, it is unlawful for employers to refuse to hire a prospective employee for refusing to give access to such accounts (OK Stat. Tit. 40 Sec. 173.2).

Oklahoma prohibits employers from recruiting or hiring professional strikebreakers to replace employees who are on strike or who have been locked out. The term “professional strikebreakers” means individuals who “customarily and repeatedly” offer themselves for employment during a strike or lockout (OK Stat. Tit. 40 Sec. 199.1 et seq.).

Oklahoma's new hire reporting law requires that all employers must report ...